Malaysia in no hurry to open its borders, says PM Muhyiddin
16 September, 2020
Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has emphasised that the federal government won't rush into reopening the country's borders.
On the other hand, border controls will be tightened, including increasing efforts to check on the entrance of unlawful immigrants to curb the spread of COVID-19, he said on Tuesday (Sep 15).
Muhyiddin said that although the tighter border controls would pose a little of difficulty, specifically for Malaysians with dealings overseas, such strict action was had a need to protect the country and its people from the novel coronavirus.
"We must strike an excellent balance between protecting lives and livelihoods of most Malaysians," he said in a televised address on the COVID-19 situation in the united states.
Malaysia's borders are closed except for business purposes, including for investment and education, with strict compliance of stipulated standard operating procedures.
The prime minister announced a total of just one 1,017 foreign people to the united states tested positive for COVID-19 from Apr 3 to Sep 15.
He said that the COVID-19 situation far away showed that some nations were now facing a new wave of infections, and stressed that a similar thing can happen in Malaysia if persons became complacent.
Aside from measures taken by the federal government, the practice of new norms among the persons was the main element in efforts to break the chain of infection, Muhyiddin said.
"I hope we all continue to be strong, resilient and disciplined in facing the pandemic. Remind ourselves to keep to cultivate these new norms in our daily lives," he said.
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